Something sewn

Last week was very productive.


I had my first wedding dress fitting and with my shoes I look very very tall, ordered my veil and my replacement engagement ring, we met with the registrar and had our last meeting with our reception venue co-ordinator.


The never ending rain made me finally finish sewing 3 new sashes for my flower girls dresses. Their dresses are white and even though the white sashes were pretty, they were lost against the dress, so I made green sashes to link the colour between the adults bridesmaid dresses and the childrens.

My oldest niece Holly will carry our wedding rings on a cushion inspired by the ring cushions on the Martha Stewart Weddings website.

And because I thought the backed looked plain in comparison to the front I added some ribbon and my late grandmother's brooch.

For both the sashes and the ring cushion I used a green lining fabric, although the lining fabric is fine for the sashes I thought it would fray easily under pressure and show every lump and bump of the cushion stuffing.  So I added an extra row of stitches close to the edges and lined the lining fabric with a light weight white cotton fabric.

There's still a couple of items I want to make... maybe if there's enough time.

Coming soon, our hen and stag parties.

Gx

Twice baked cheesy potatoes recipe

When you are having a party it's great to have some hot food the guests love, it can be made in advance and reheated.  They're so good your guests will want more.

The instructions below make 4 cheesy baked potatoes.

Ingredients

2 baking potatoes - we normally bake 1 potato per person

150g grated cheddar cheese

Milk

Butter or margarine

Instructions

1. Wash the baking potatoes and stab them with a sharp knife 8 times.
2. Place in the centre of a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees Celsius, cook for an hour turning once, when the centers are soft they are ready. 
3. Cut the potatoes in half and using a large spoon scoop out the centre into a pan (be careful, they are HOT), place the skins back on a baking tray.
4. Add into the pan of potato a knob of butter or margarine and a splash of milk.  Using a potato masher, mash until creamy.  
   
5. Add into the pan 4/6ths of the cheese and fold in well.
6. Using a spoon, scoop the cheesy mash potato back into the skins.
7. Sprinkle the top of the potatoes with the remaining cheese.
8. When cool, cover and keep in the fridge until needed.  I have kept the potatoes for up to 2 days before re-heating.
9. Heat the potatoes at 200 degrees Celsius for 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden and the centre is hot.

Eat and enjoy.

Something new

Our wedding is only a month and a half away - eeek.

The boy and I decided to make a few handmade items for the wedding, I still have to make the sashes for the flower girls dresses, but I have been making the ladies favours on and off for the last few months.  

We have designed, made and posted the invitations, the boy even managed to source some FSC sustainable card, and I think they are great.  

A wedding magazine said if a bride normally wears her hair down like I do then she should wear it down on her wedding day.  Well, I am ignoring that little piece of advice, I want to look different, polished and elegant like Reese Witherspoon, Kate Beckinsale and Angelina Jolie.  My hairdresser tried out 2 different styles, sorry, no pictures until after the wedding.


These are my shoes for the big day, aren't they pretty!  I visited them for a good year before purchasing them, you see, I normally wear flat shoes, like, everywhere... and they add a good three inches to my height, so I really need to a. learn to walk in them, and b. break them in.  

I do have a plan b for the evening - bare feet, perfect for dancing.


Sorry I can't share photos of everything I have made yet, many of my guests read this blog and I want a few things to be a surprise.


Gx

Applique baby bodysuit (onesie) & free patterns

My cousin and his wife had their first child in May, a beautiful little girl.  

Every sewer knows each baby should receive a gift, one made with love and thought in each stitch.  For Freya's gift I embellished some shop bought bodysuits (onesies) as each newborn needs some cute bodysuits to wear with a skirt or trousers and a little cardigan.  

Both the apple and bird are attached using raw edge applique to allow the edges to fray slightly when washed, and the apple stem, bird's beak, feet and eyes are sewn with co-ordinating thread.  The bow is 3D, it was fashioned into shape and lightly sewn onto the suit.  

Welcome to the world Freya.

----------     Bloganniversary     ----------

This month is my one year blog anniversary and to celebrate I am sharing the apple and bird patterns, here they are: 

Click on the image to open a larger version.

I used the pattern on a bodysuit for a baby aged 3-6 months, and the pattern can easily be increased.  A new mum gets so many clothes for a newborn I like to give something the little one can grow into.


Gx

Like the Twilight Saga?

If like me you became OBSESSED with the Twilight Saga books then you may have heard Stephanie Mayer has published an Eclipse novella called 'The short second life of Bree Tanner'. 

Here's the good news - as a gift from Stephanie it is available to read online and for free at www.breetanner.com/ until the 5th July 2010.


What are you waiting for?

Bleaching fabric

Sometimes does not work.


It's the first time I have tried to lighten fabric and decided to use the bleach.  Before starting I read some instructions on the internet, placed each fabric colour in a separate mixture of warm water and bleach for several minutes.  

Here they are, can you tell the difference?  

No.  Neither can I.  


Do you have any suggestions for future attempts?

Do sewing machines have their own quilts?

In my house they do.

This sewing machine quilt has been on my UFO list for sometime.  Over a year ago I woke one Sunday morning eager to try something new, made a sketch, worked out the dimensions and grabbed some old shirt fabric that I'd purchased 2 or so years ago from the NEC quilt show.  

The quilt is to go under my sewing machine to stop it from damaging my kitchen table.  Some of the shirt fabric I really don't like is hidden under the machine and one of the very first fat quarters I purchased around the edge.  I have backed the quilt with more shirt fabric, and it's actually my favourite part.  This time I decided to go with white binding, it was probably a bad idea but I think it balances the colours in the quilt top.

I'm tried out a different type of wadding for this project, I usually use Warm and Natural for bed quilts, but for a machine quilt cheap wadding will do.

In Liverpool's new shopping area two new shops opened recently and yours truely just happened to pop by.  I'm not accustomed to shop openings and so why not take a moment to enjoy a glass of champaign and ord'erves.  Who am I to question their marketing techniques???

Gx